DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 21-40 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Padmanabhan et al., USPN 2020/0250661.
With regard to claims 30 and 21, Padmanabhan discloses a method including receiving a data collection request from an application (0053-0062, 0056-0057), sending a request to a blockchain node based on the data collection request, wherein the request indicates a request to set up a customized data blockchain based on at least one parameter associated with the data collection request (0041, 0042, 0053-0062, 0182-0186), receiving a first message indicating the customized data blockchain is configured (0041, 0053-0062, 0082, 0083, 0182-0186), and sending a second message to the application indicating that the data collection request has been processed (0053-0062, 0182-0186).
With regard to claims 31, 22, and 23, Padmanabhan discloses the method of claim 30, as outlined above, and further discloses sending, to a second network entity, a data provider identification request based on the data collection request (0041, 0042, 0053-0060, 0175-0186), receiving a response message from the second network entity, wherein the response message indicates an identified data provider (0041, 0042, 0053-0060, 0175-0186), and sending a third message to the identified data provider indicating data submission information associated with the customized data blockchain (0041, 0042, 0053-0062, 0182-0186).
With regard to claims 32 and 24-26, Padmanabhan discloses the method of claim 30, as outlined above, and further discloses the data collection request indicates one or more data collection parameters associated with the application (0041, 0042, 0053-0060, 0175-0186), and wherein the request to the blockchain node includes the one or more data collection parameters associated with the application (0041, 0042, 0053-0060, 0175-0186), wherein the customized data blockchain is configured based on the one or more data collection parameters associated with the application (0041, 0042, 0053-0060, 0175-0186), and wherein the one or more data collection parameters indicates at least one of a type of data, a data provider, a geographical area, a type of data collection, or a sampling rate (0175-0186).
With regard to claims 33 and 27, Padmanabhan discloses the method of claim 30, as outlined above, and further discloses the second message further indicates customized data blockchain information associated with the set up customized data blockchain (0053-0062, 0182-0186, 0175-0186).
With regard to claims 34 and 28, Padmanabhan discloses the method of claim 30, as outlined above, and further discloses the customized data blockchain is a virtual blockchain network (0266)
With regard to claims 35 and 29, Padmanabhan discloses the method of claim 30, as outlined above, and further discloses the request further indicates the request to set up a customized data blockchain if no existing data blockchain can serve the data collection request (0041, 0042, 0053-0062, 0182-0186).
With regard to claims 36-40, Padmanabhan discloses the method of claim 30, as outlined above, and further discloses setting up the blockchain based on nodes (0053-0062, 0082-0087) and multiple chains (0094-0104).
References Cited
Parker et al., USPN 2019/0044714 discloses a method of generating a customized blockchain based on a request with parameters (0054), but is not as clear as Padmanabhan that the request is received by a device acting as an intermediary (Padmanabhan 0057).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB LIPMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-3837. The examiner can normally be reached 5:30AM-6:00PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ali Shayanfar can be reached at 571-270-1050. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/JACOB LIPMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2434